The other night I was planning my next day’s outfit (my new vintage heels, a skirt, t-shirt and sweater) to suit the predicted weather, which was meant to be sunny with cloudy periods. I then woke the following day to find it was overcast and raining.

Immediately I had to rethink my entire outfit. Which is no easy feat when most of your wardrobe is piled in, on and around the washing machine!   Thankfully I had a mostly clean pair of jeans that I could wear and some sensible shoes that didn’t have any holes in them.

Once again the weather influenced my fashion choices more than the pages of Vogue.

Once again Mother Nature scuppered my fashion whims!

Yes, one of the things I love doing is planning what outfit I’m going to wear the next day.
One of the things I hate is when the weather decides to do a 180 and makes a mockery of my outfit.

Which is why I’m starting to create a series of outfits that will be on call when the weather goes all topsy turvy.

If it’s sunny and warm finding an outfit is easy – you can grab shorts or a skirt, a t-shirt or a short sleeved blouse and your good to go.   A cardy’s good to have on hand just in case.

If it’s warm but wet you can get away with the above outfit – but carry an umbrella because turning up to work or an event looking like a drowned rat is never a good look.

If it’s cold and wet? A long skirt or pants is a must as is layering your tops so that you can moderate your temperature depending on whether you’re inside or out.  Once again a good umbrella is a lifesaver.  I also always carry around a spare pair of socks on wet days because shoes always seem to crack or develop a hole at the most inconvenient times.

And if it’s wet and blowing a gale that causes the rain to blow sideways?   This is when you need to carry a whole new outfit with you.  The experience of living in Wellington has taught me this.   Though I wish someone would invent a contraption that sits on your head, spreads out like an umbrella then unveils a circular sheet of plastic that envelops your whole body.   You’d look ridiculous, but at least you’d get to wherever you were going in one dry piece!

Am I the only woman who thinks this muchabout weather and fashion? Are there others out there?  Maybe we could set up a support group!

And do men have the same problems? Let me know … 

Kellie Hailes

Weather Watch Reporter